Instinctive
by Burst.ofSILENCE
Summary: Percy was sure he didn't know this girl, so can anyone explain why he was making some pretty damn stupid choices because of her? Post-TLH. PercyxAnnabeth


**You know what's awesome about semestral breaks? I can actually sit my butt down and finish something. AND I FEEL EFFIN PRODUCTIVE. Well, fanfiction productive, at least.**

**This little Post-TLH reunion scene is dedicated to everyone who reviewed 'Putting Up a Front'! I honestly didn't like that story much, so it's really nice to know that some people do xDDD**

**Disclaimer: My inner fangirl dies everytime I say this, but I don't own Percy Jackson.**

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**Instinctive  
**_We used to have this figured out._

"Yo Jason! We're in Frisco now!" Leo yelled out.

Roughly half a year after the quest to save Hera, the Hephaestus cabin had finished building the _Argo II _and Jason, Leo, and Piper had set off for the Roman camp. Apart from their original trio, the son of Jupiter also brought along Annabeth, Chiron, Thalia, and a fourteen-year-old kid named Nico, who was apparently a son of Hades and Percy's cousin. Almost everyone on board was on the deck, with the exception of Chiron, his sister, and Leo.

"Alright, Leo. Just follow the directions I gave you." Jason told Leo, who was currently navigating the ship. The child of Rome then turned towards the daughter of Athena a few feet away and asked.

"Annabeth, you alright with being second-in-command?" Her calculating gray eyes looked at him for a second, and eventually nodded.

"Uh, no offense to you Annabeth, but why her?" Leo piped up.

"From what I've heard about Percy, he's a great fighter." Jason began, looking out over San Francisco. "Even though it's only been a few months, he's probably risen through the ranks there. If he isn't the commander, he's somewhere close."

"So what you're saying is, we'll need Annabeth to deal with Percy." Piper said. The son of Zeus looked at her and nodded.

"Exactly. We don't know if he's remembered anything yet, so he might try to attack us. I asked Thalia who would have the biggest chance of holding their own against Percy, and Annabeth's our best bet." Everyone was silent for a moment. Even after months, it was still hard for them – for Chiron, Nico, Thalia, and _Annabeth_ especially – to accept that their friend might not even know them anymore.

"Hey Jason? There's something up ahead." Nico called out. Everyone faced the direction he was looking at, and Jason saw it.

"Get ready guys. We're almost there."

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At the Roman camp, the sirens began blaring as demigods spotted the warship headed their way. Percy prepared himself for battle. As second-in-command, the son of Posei- sorry, the son of _Neptune_ had the responsibility to back up Reyna, their commander, and issue orders to the other demigods.

The children of Rome assembled and the archers were getting ready to open fire on the ship when-

"Arms down, Heroes of Rome!" They heard a voice say from the ship. All the demigods around Percy furrowed their eyebrows.

"Jason?" Reyna had asked.

Percy has heard that name before. Jason was a son of Jupiter, and the Romans' leader. Well, before he disappeared and Reyna had to take over, that is. Strangely enough, he disappeared at around the same time Percy found himself at the Roman camp, with no memories except for his name.

The warship landed just outside the camp's border, and a blond kid, maybe one or two years younger than Percy, stepped out, his hands up in surrender. Beside him was a pretty brunette, her hands up in the air, too. A man in a wheelchair came next, followed by others. But Percy didn't pay attention to them; he was looking at the blond kid who got out first. Murmurs erupted from the Romans.

"No way. It _is _Jason."

"Jason's back!"

"Wait a minute. How do we know you're the real deal?" Percy asked, narrowing his eyes. If there was anything he learned from losing his memory, it was not to trust anyone.

Jason stared at him, as if sizing him up. "So you're Percy Jackson."

He bristled. "How do you know my name?" Slowly, he drew the pen from his pocket out and uncapped it, letting it transform into a three-foot sword made of celestial bronze.

"The Greek demigods – my friends – told me. Apparently, you're their hero." Jason took a gold coin from his pocket, flipping it in the air. The coin landed face-up on his palm before turning into a gold gladius.

Percy froze for a moment. He knew he didn't belong in the Roman camp, sure. But he was _Greek?_ He wasn't sure whether to believe that or not.

There was also the issue of whether this kid in front of him was the real Jason or not. From what he knew, the real Jason was a good fighter. Maybe it was time to test that. Percy looked at Reyna, who was thinking the same thing he was. She nodded slightly. She and the rest of the demigods formed a circle around him and Jason.

"Alright. Let's see if you're really Jason." Reyna muttered.

Out of nowhere, Percy lunged, raising his sword in a backhand slash. Jason expertly raised his own to defend the attack, but it never came. At least, not where he expected it.

"Wait, Jason! It's a trap!" Percy heard a girl's voice say.

The dark-haired swordsman feinted and aimed for Jason's other side, which was completely defenseless. He smirked. From how he handled his blade, Percy could tell Jason was good. Unfortunately, the younger demigod wasn't fast enough.

_Clang!_

Percy's eyes widened slightly. "How-?"

Standing in between his blade and Jason was a blond girl his age with narrowed gray eyes. She had skillfully intercepted his sword with the hilt of her knife.

Impossible. Nobody's been able to block that attack of his before. None that he can remember.

_Then again, he couldn't remember much of anything now, could he?_

"Hey! No interfering!" To his right, he heard the familiar rhythm of Reyna's quickening footsteps.

"Reyna, stop!" Percy heard Jason shout.

"Annabeth!" The pretty Greek brunette - her voice wasn't the same as the one a while ago - yelled.

Without thinking, Percy moved his sword and blocked Reyna's blade, which was about to strike the blond girl. He cursed in ancient Greek. What kind of stupid move was that? Not only did he block his ally's – his _commander's – _attack, he also left himself vulnerable to the blond girl's blade.

Oh, he was so going to get into trouble for this.

For a second, Reyna's face was shocked, but then she got over it and narrowed her eyes.

"Percy, what are you doing? _Stand down_." His commander said, gritting her teeth.

Percy blamed his ADHD for making him blurt out: "How about no?".

He wasn't sure whose eyes were wider: the Greeks', the Romans', Reyna's, the blond girl's, or his.

If he wasn't in some deep shit before, he was now.

_Strike one._

"Enough. All of you." A voice said. It was Lupa. All four demigods lowered their weapons as the she-wolf approached the center of the crowd. The man in the wheelchair from the Greeks' side came forward as well.

"Chiron. It's been ages." Lupa acknowledged him. The man in the wheelchair nodded.

"It has, Lupa. Allow me to introduce my students. You already know Jason-"

"He's _my_ pup, centaur." Lupa snarled. Percy's eyes furrowed. _Centaur? That guy?_

"-And this is his sister Thalia, daughter of Zeus." Chiron continued as if Lupa hadn't interrupted him, pointing at the dark-haired girl with electric blue eyes. Everyone else grew quiet. Percy guessed none of the Romans knew their leader had a Greek sister. Chiron continued to introduce his pupils. Leo Valdez, the curly-haired Latino, was a son of Hephaestus. The pretty brunette who yelled a while ago was Piper McLean, daughter of Aphrodite. The pale, dark-haired kid was Nico di Angelo, son of Hades. And lastly, there was the blond girl who had blocked his attack. Annabeth Chase, daughter of Athena.

_Well, that explains how she knew to block his attack... Sort of. Maybe._

"Enough of that. What are you doing here, Chiron?" Lupa demanded.

"Well, you see..."

Percy was never a good listener, so it wasn't much of a shock to learn that he was tuning this out, even though it might help him recover his memories. It seemed he wasn't the only one not listening, though.

During the whole conversation, Annabeth's gaze lingered on Percy, like she was trying to analyze him inside and out... or communicate with him telepathically. Either way, it was beginning to freak him out. He couldn't look away, though. There was something about those piercing gray eyes and that streak of gray in her hair. (Besides, he would be lying if he said he wasn't the least bit attracted to her.)

"Annabeth, let's go." Jason said.

Both Annabeth and Percy snapped out of it. It appears that Chiron and Lupa's conversation was over. The son of Jupiter beckoned her again with a wave of his hand, his other hand clutched tightly in the pretty brunette's. The blond girl looked at Percy one last time – she looked _sad,_ for some reason – before going back to Jason and Piper.

Percy felt a surge of emotion as Annabeth returned to Jason's side. As far as he was concerned, she didn't belong beside anyone with blond hair and blue eyes (his ADHD brain wondered, off-task, why he didn't just say 'Jason'. Was there _another_ blond-haired blue-eyed boy?) because she was _Percy's__ second-in-command, dammit-_

_Wait. What?_

There was no way he was being jealous. Not for a complete stranger... right?

_Strike two._

The Greeks had been in camp for three days now, and Percy was doing everything in his power to avoid them, most of all that blond girl.

_Annabeth Chase._

It wasn't that he was afraid of her, per se. It's just... she made him do things that he shouldn't even think of doing, but feel almost second nature to him. Whenever he was around her, it was like he ran on autopilot, completely instinctive, and _that_ scared him. Just yesterday, during training, as _she _(Percy didn't say her name, because even _that _made him do stupid things, such as grinning like a moron while staring off into space.) was hacking dummies with her knife like there was no tomorrow, he got this insane urge to walk up to her and _kiss_ _her, _for gods' sakes! Even more insane, he actually felt comfortable enough to know that _she_ wouldn't mind it if he did that, either.

It didn't even make sense! Why would he feel this close to her? She was a daughter of Athena and he was a son of Poesi- _Neptune. _They were the children of two sworn enemies. It was literally in their chemical makeup to hate each other. He wasn't sure how things worked in the Greek camp, but here in the Roman camp, fraternizing with the enemy was a big 'no-no'.

That was why he was currently out in the forest, by a small pond, not hiding, but _avoiding, _the Greeks, who were supposedly his close friends.

Percy didn't know what he did before Lupa found him, but he must've done something pretty stupid for the Fates – or whoever deity stole his memories – to give him a really hard time. Especially when it concerned blond daughters of Athena.

"There you are, Percy."

See what he meant?

Percy didn't look up. He didn't even acknowledge her as she sat beside him. He could feel her gray eyes on him, but he ignored those, too. He went out here to avoid her and dammit, avoid her he will.

"Hey, Percy." He could almost hear the frown in her voice, and again, his ADHD brain wondered how he knew her well enough to actually _hear_ her facial expressions.

"Dammit, Jackson. Look at me when I'm talking to you!"

_Oh great._ She was pissed now. He had this vague hunch that this girl did not do pleasant things when she was angry. Athena always has a plan, after all.

But all she did was sigh in defeat. A few seconds later, Percy felt a hand delicately trace his spine, starting from the top and going lower towards the small of his back. His eyebrows furrowed. _What was she doing-_

His head snapped up as a thousand volts of electricity raced through his body. What the hell was _that_?

"Thought I'd let you know where your Achilles Spot is before you accidentally kill yourself." She grumbled before pulling her hand away from that patch of skin on his back. "But since you don't want to talk to me," Annabeth stood up, and Percy wanted to kick himself for missing the feel of her fingers on his back.

He shouldn't go after her. He should just stay there, watch as she began walking away. He should just ignore her as she turned around to face him and he should _definitely_ ignore what she was going to say-

"When you decide to stop being a total ass and want to remember, come find me, Seaweed Brain."

_Oh well._

Percy hurried after her, catching her wrist and spinning her around to face him. That whole avoid-the-Greeks plan went down the drain. All because he heard _it. _That little _nickname_ that he knew should piss him off but it _didn't. _Because it came from _her._

"Percy, what- mmph!"

_Three strikes, Jackson. You're out._

And then suddenly, he was kissing her, holding her in his arms and looking at her with wonderastonishment_needl__ove_ as a whisper escaped his lips.

"_I remember you now. Oh gods, Wise Girl_._"_

_(I hope it's not too late.)_

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**Well, that didn't turn out the way I wanted it to, but I hope it was still okay. :D REVIEW, dears. They totally make my day.**


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